Well drilling apparatus



Oct. 3, 1933. w J NEWMAN 1,928,947

WELL. DRILLING APPARATUS Filed March 2, 1931 invention;

fully hereinafter.

Patented a.- 3, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELL DRILLING APPARATUS J. Newman, C hicagm lll 7 Application March 2,'1931. seriarm. 519,594;-

.9 Claims.. (Cl..255-28) I This invention relates towell drilling particularly as applied to large wellssuch as used for foundation purposes and which are frequently of from four to six' feet in diameter and upwards of -one hundred feet or more in depth. In carrying "out .this'invention I supplement the picking and cutting action of suitable excavatingfdevicesor drill members, with water and air which serve to agitate the material and tend to prevent the ac-.

on with the well filled with water or muckjfte; provide a .drillingapparatus with novel meanslfgr". utilizing water and air under p'ressurelto coactwith j :the drilling membersj to provide means for utiliz ing air for agitating and'iloating excavated material away fromthe drill; to provide: an improved drill pipe orshaft; and to provide such other improvements and advantages as will appear more In the accompanying'drawing illustrating Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of 'a drilling machine for carrying out my improved method,

own diagrammatiparts being broken away. or sh cally for convenience in illustration;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail of theswivel head showing the means for supplying water and'air to the drill pipe;

Figure 3 is a crosssectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; v

Figure 4 is an end view of one of the drill pipes taken substantially on the line 4-4 ofFigure 1; and

V Figure 5 is anenlarged detail of the flange connections between thedrill pipes.

As shown in the'drawing; 6 represents in general the drilling machine which provides support pipe may be extended by merely adding additional I sections as the work proceeds. Each section has oppositely disposed longitudinal" projections 10 having grooves 11 therein'to provide continuous channelsthe entire length of the pipe. These grooves are engag'edby driving members 12 in the driving head "L which members may comprise bolts as shown in Figure 3 or other suitable projectionsiwhich are adapted to slide in the groovesand to turn the pipe. Each section is provided with flanges 13 which are adapted to be connected with the flangesof adjacent sections by means of bolts "14. Inorder to avoid excessive driving strains'on the bolts theflange atthe end of one pipe is provided withidriving lugs or projections 15 which engage with recesses 16 in the'adjacent .flange as shownin Figure 5', these lugs and recesses preferably being'rectangular inform as shown in Figure 4. When a number of such sections are joined together; it'will be seen that the string of pipe thus formed will have a continuous groove or driving slot from the top to the drill head. jThe drill orcutterhead 17 is secured to the flange of thelowermost sectionand is provided withpassageways l8'leading to outlet orifices 19 adjacentto the cutting members or excavatingdevices 20. The passageways through the drill headcomrnunicate with i through the driving pipe or shaft 8. I

The pipe 8 is supported bya swivel head 22 having an inlet'fltting'such as a T23 for the water and air connections. A water hose" or pipe 24 is connected with one end of the T and is provided with a check. valve 25 of any suitable form which permits water to pass into the pipe butprevents any discharge therefrom. The pipe 24' isconnected with a'water pump (or other means) for supplying water under pressure, which pressure ;I have found is effective at about fifty pounds per square inch. An'air hose or pipe 26 from anysuitablesource of air supply adapted to furnish the same under pressure,

which pressure I have usedat about ninetyfive pounds per square inch, is connected with the opposite end ,of the T, 23 and preferably has a branch or extension 27-leading"down'into the lower branch of the T as shown in Figure 2. The passageway through this branch into the pipe 8 may be somewhat restricted as shown at 28 at the end of the branch 27 so that the air inlet device may act in. the nature of an injector to help draw the water in as well as to force it down through the drill pipe.

The swivel head 22 is provided with a ball 29 the hole or passage 21 g V the drill pipe and will overflow at the top of the well thereby carrying off the excavated material.

From this it will be seen that as the work pro gresses, there will be a considerable head of water in the well which tends to resistthe. discharge While the use of water alone may in some cases.

, be suflicient I have found that it is not entirely satisfactory'and therefore utilize. air under higher-pressure. asan auxiliary means to coact with. the water and assist in forcing the water throul the: drill and connected parts and also tofassist in agitating the water and. excavated material at thBbOttOiIL of the well thereby tending to clean the drills and to. float. or carry up the. loosened materiaL when the air is forced in.

{through the jet. or nozzle 2'7. at'isufliciently high 3E pressure, the injector actiontends. to "assist .in-

drawing waiter. through'thepipe. 24. if water is suppliedattheaame. time and the and water will-be driven downwardly together through the Ifdrfll pipe 8. and out drilling devices 43 20. The bubbles or streamsof discharged around the drill head are directed toward the cutting area and first tend to force the water against the cutters. and. then as the bubbles are freed the. water is agitated and the' bubbles pass upthroughthe water in the well tending to further agitate andfloat off the excavated material.

In s'omeinstanees thelsupply of water through the pipe 24' maybe. stopped temporarily and the i. check valve. 25 will be closed- 'Thereupon if' ai'r is. forced in through the. pipe 26 it will' drive out the entire'volume 'of water in. the drill pipe 8 and connected parts, such water pass ng. with relatively high'pressure out through'fthe discharge.

L41 openings 19.. Then as all of the water is driven out, from-the. pipe'fithe air will follow in large quantities furthertending to agitate and" carry ofl. the. materialat thehot'tom of the well.

account. of the relatively large amount of material to be excavated and as such material is. frequently heavy hardfpan or the like, a large amount. of force is necessary to turn the drill head and excessive weight is desirable to expedite the drilling action. For this reason the parts, and particularly the drill pipes, are made heavy so. that when the drill is, for instance, ap-

proximately one hundred feet in the ground there is approximately twenty tons weight in the pipe and drill head which is being turned by the machine. On account of such torsional strains I have found it advantageous to provide the coacting lugs or clutch members on the drill pipes and by having the slots extending through the flanges, a continuous keyway or driving connection is provided so that when the drill has moved downwardly the length of one pipe, the top section'may' be loosened and another pipe inserted so that the work may progress with but little interruption.

I have: found from actual use that apparatus such as described and shown and operated in the manner described will successfully drill through various materials and at satisfactory speeds but it may be desired to change the constructionof some of the parts or to operate the same differentlyunder different conditions and therefore I do not wishto limit myself to the forms. or operations herein described except as set forth in the following claims in which I claim.

1. A drillpipe having flanges at the ends thereof. and having an outwardly facing recess extending the length of the pipe and through the flanges.

2- A drill pipe having longitudinal slots extending the full length thereof for receiving drive members; substantially as described.

3.. A drill pipe having. longitudinal projections with continuous groovesv therein for receiving driving. members for turning the pipe.

4". A pipe for actuating a well drill, having flanges at the ends thereof and having longitudinal. projections with grooves through the and through the flanges. Q5; The combination with a turning head for w'ell-I drills having oppositely disposed driving members, of a pipe formed of a plurality of flanged sections with. longitudinal grooves therein for receiving. said driving members.

6.. A string of pipe for the purposes indicated. comprising sections secured together and having acontimious longitudinal slot throughout the length of the string. I

fl. A drill shaft formed of a plurality of sections which. are joined together and which are provided with longitudinal groovesextending throughout the length thereof and arranged in alignment, thereby providing a continuous driving groove throughout the length of the shaft.

8. A drill shaft formed of a plurality of sections,. each section having integrally formed flanges provided with interlocking driving. means for operatively connecting them to the other sections, said sections-having longitudinal grooves which also extend through said flanges.

, 9. Apipe for actuating a well drill, having. an integrally formed flange at the end thereof with 135 driving means adapted to interlock with a similar flange on a coactingv pipe and having longitudinal projections with grooves through the same and through the flange.

WILLIAM J. NEWMAN. 

